A Land O'Lakes culinary arts student goes to the statewide competition with her calamari dish.
By MICHELE MILLER
Published February 25, 2004
LAND O'LAKES - She might have been looking a little flushed but Tasha Gibson was cool as a cucumber even as she worked against a ticking clock.
The rising steam from the bubbling tomato marinara sauce she was stirring, in between the slicing of lemons and limes, was the likely the cause for the rosy cheeks.
No way was it precompetition jitters.
"I'm not nervous at all," Tasha said as she quartered a blanched fennel bulb for grilling.
Tasha, 18, is no stranger to competition. Because of her place on the school's color guard, it's fairly routine for the Land O'Lakes High senior. After a while, it seems you grow nerves of steel.
Last week, Tasha was practicing for another kind of competition in the corner cooking station at Land O'Lakes High School. Tasha was one of seven culinary arts students from throughout the state to make the final round of the "Dinner for Four" segment of the Johnson & Wales Taste of Florida Cooking contest.
This past weekend Tasha traveled to the Miami campus of Johnson & Wales Universityto compete for some $12,000 in scholarship money, along with her instructor, Bob Wright.
Students who get to the cookoff must prepare their dinner and plate it in three hours. Chefs and other industry professionals grade them on their presentation, color, taste, kitchen organization and sanitation.
Making the finals is pretty impressive - especially for a first-year cooking student, said Wright, who can only watch behind a smoked-glass window during the competition. But Tasha, who took the culinary arts course on a lark as an elective, has been shown to have a knack.
Still, "she'll be up against some stiff competition," said Wright, adding that the uniqueness of Tasha's recipe - Grilled Stuffed Calamari with Tamarind and Tomato Marinara and Grilled Citrus Fennel - should help.
So should the hours of preparation, done at school and at home using a George Foreman Grill.
All that practicing means that folks at home have been downing some healthy portions of squid.
"My boyfriend even ate it for a midnight snack," she said. "But I can't eat this stuff."
Land O'Lakes High has seen five culinary arts students make the finals in as many years. "We've been knocking on the door," Wright said. "It would be really nice to win one this year."
As for Tasha, she was looking forward to the competition, but had no expectation of winning. "I didn't think I'd get this far," she said. "I think that just going down there (to Miami) will be fun."
NOTE: The results are in - Tasha did well, placing fourth and earning a $4,000 scholarship.
